The Importance Of Community Needs Assessment For St. Louis City

This article examined resources and the importance of engagement when attempting to address this social problem. The importance of resources and community engagement is paramount when mapping a plan to address homelessness. This reins especially true when attempting to address homelessness and mental illness under the same program, as ANCHOR does. Since ANCHOR is a grant-funded program, its resource allocation may change over time, and as such the level of services may change (“Aspire Health Partners,”

Mental illnesses are very common in the United States, with one in five of adolescents having a diagnosed mental illness and in the last year less than half of these adolescents have received proper treatment. The most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, can disrupt daily life and result in suicide, which is the third most frequent cause of death in teenagers (“The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”). Ten percent of adolescents did not have health insurance in 2013 and those who did, had a very limited amount of mental health care services provided to them (“The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”). It has been proved that it is even less likely that adolescents who are poor, homeless, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender will receive the care that is necessary for their health and even life (“The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”). Mental disorders are not only an

All runaway and homeless youth are at greater risk for various mental disorders including severe anxiety and depression as well as suicide. The study by Molnar et al. found that 58% of runaway and homeless youth in the sample have had suicidal thoughts and 34% of the sample have reported attempting suicide at least once in their lives (1998). Of the youth that reported past suicide attempts 9% have lingering health problems due to the attempt including liver damage, heart problems and ulcers (Molnar et al, 1998). Poorer health outcomes for runaway youth extend beyond mental health. In the NRS Longitudinal Study, former runaways reported lower self-rating of general health than individuals without a history of running away (Benoit-Bryan, 2011). Also, former runaways were 53% more likely to have been diagnosed with an STD in the past 12 months that non-runaways and other predictors such as being female, Black, younger, homosexual and having a history of abuse (Benoit-Bryan, 2011). Results showed that 55.4% of former runaways reported smoking cigarettes in the last 30 days, compared to 35% of the total sample (Benoit-Bryan, 2011). Overall, negative health outcomes are apparent across all homeless youth, as are negative economic and legal

The idea behind the community needs assessment for the town of Wallingford, Connecticut was to critique the overall nutritional needs and health of the community. While preparing a community needs assessment, some factors to consider are: government, programs both profit and non-profit, demographics, and the economy of the community.

Interventions on all levels are important in the prevention and the assistance in helping at-risk youth. The Macro level of intervention is imperative on a larger spectrum of creating positive change and the development of larger systems to indirectly help those young adults who are struggling. This level of intervention is key in developing policy change, and helping communities to development initiatives with the expectation of reducing youth suffering homelessness, drug use, physical and sexual abuse, crime and other troubling conditions they may face as they transition to adulthood. Through research and the collection of analysis from both the state and national levels, we can develop an enhanced understanding of this vulnerable population and develop the programs and strategies necessary. Many social workers work closely with community members in this research and the development of interventions to address the large-scale problems faced by today’s at-risk youth.

As previously discussed, homelessness among youth in the Houston / Harris County area is a growing population with far reaching consequences for this group. They can be identified as a cultural group as they identify with others who have shared experiences and commonalities. Some of the serious struggles, identified in part I, homeless youth face are the increased probability of becoming victimized on the streets, higher risk of being infected with a STD or HIV, becoming pregnant, entering the criminal justice system, not having access to medical treatment, employment, housing, or education and job training. Without resiliency, the bleak outlook on life has the power to destroy their self-efficacy leaving them with low self-esteem.

David Williams works with a group of human service workers that provides a preventive program to youth in the community through a child and family service center (Lewis, Packard, & Lewis, 2012, pp.6). At this time David and his colleagues have been told that the program may be cut in the next year or two due to a financial situation that the center is currently facing (Lewis, Packard, & Lewis, 2012, pp.6).

The population of at risk and hard to place girls I worked with on a daily basis reinforced my interest in supporting youth through counseling and developing plans and programs that could support their needs long term. My position as a Youth Support Counselor then lead me to ask the very question of what services and programs are there in place to support my residents’ families. This is when I transitioned to becoming a case planner for underserved families and communities.

In conclusion, we found that urban areas need a support system that offers assistance to children, families, and senior citizens lacking basic resources. East End Neighborhood House is a light in a dark place. Their services help to reduce the negativity within the Cleveland community. EENH also is a resource that attempts to hold families together by providing sustainable tools for living. Their three main values of Prevention, Community Development, and Advocacy are reflected in all the services they have available. Their three specialized services of dealing with kids that face behavioral/mental problems, tools to help when foster care gets involved, and family reunification give a sense of hope to families going through the lowest times

Street youth repeatedly face a brutal sequence of challenges. Despondent and hopeless, youth can sometimes self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, steering to harmful exchanges with law enforcement. Additionally, lack of self-sureness and self-value, living on the streets generates a swarm of added challenges for youths in this area, (i.e. greater risk of sexual abuse and sexually spread diseases, mental health concerns, reduced access to health care, and detrimental relationships).

management, mentoring and parenting classes. The parents of the High Risk Youth must participate in the program to be part of the solution (Hirth, D.)

The One Roof Community Community Centre (ORCC) is a program associated with the Warming Room Community Ministries in Peterborough, Ontario. A meal is served twice a day during the week, and once a day on weekends (Warming Room Community Ministries, 2017). The building is also open for drop-in hours from 12-7, providing a warm place to stay during the afternoon. The Warming Room Community Ministries number one goal is to “work toward God’s dream of justice, peace and love in the City of Peterborough by meeting immediate needs, breaking down barriers that exist in the community and advocating for systemic change.” (Warming Room Community Ministries, 2017).

The Youth Service Bureau (YSB) will be implementing a new program, Road to Aspire with the goals of promoting the mental health, a guide for immigrant youth groups, and youth legal immigration service referrals currently enrolled in YSB in Central Texas. Road to Aspire will help youth, between the ages of 14-18, with their transition from other Countries into the United States and the school system here in Central Texas. Road to Aspire has three primary objectives: increase citizenship rates, decrease risky behavior, and improve emotional and social development for teens. According to the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2009) the adolescent phase is a critical period for youth, the habits and behaviors they develop during this transition can affect them in their adult life. During this stage adolescents engage in risky behavior that can have harmful consequences that affect their health, opportunities, and quality of life (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009). Road to Aspire aims to provide immigrant youth with a positive outlet and a safe environment to grow and develop along with expressing their emotions in a healthy way while receiving guidance from mental health professionals.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not youth assets in a community-based sample of racially and ethnically, as well as economically diverse youth. Youth assets are defined in the study as skills, competencies, relationships, and opportunities that aid in helping youth overcome adversities while transitioning into adulthood. The authors based their hypothesis on prior empirical studies that indicate that youth benefit from having assets.

This was definitely a much hard task to complete than I had anticipated from the beginning. The thought by me was some research and I should be able to find then necessary information. However, the simple fact that as a private school system, we do not need to do a lot of these public school state-mandated items. I looked for a long while and was finally excited to find a school needs assessment for Wahlert. Two things jumped out at me at as I started to read: 1. the name of the school was Wahlert and not Wahlert Catholic which meant that it was older than 8 years. 2. It was for Wahlert and not Holy Family which meant it predated 2001. The actual date was 1999 and was really no help since a lot of things have changed since then.